


Dying Embers

by sheepmint



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Blood and Violence, Corrupt Legal System, Daemons, Drinking, Gambling, Gang Leader Johnny Suh, Gangs, His Dark Materials Inspired, Illegal Activities, Implied Sexual Content, Inspired By Peaky Blinders, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Sexual Content, Smoking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-15 18:00:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28942602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sheepmint/pseuds/sheepmint
Summary: In the midst of betrayal, Johnny encountered Taeyong. It had been a while since someone boldly stared him in the face. Johnny couldn't help but be intrigued.
Relationships: Lee Taeyong/Suh Youngho | Johnny, Other Relationships
Comments: 18
Kudos: 38





	1. The Wolf's Den

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there! I'd be very, very, VERY grateful if you read this note before diving into the story as it will explain the premise a bit better!
> 
> This story is inspired by both His Dark Materials (a book & TV series) and Peaky Blinders (TV series), a fusion of the two if you will. Some aspects of both media have been borrowed or interpreted for this story but not all have been depicted in the exact same way, which is why I opted to use the tag 'inspired' rather than 'based on’.
> 
> You do **not** need to have read/watched or known of HDM or PB to follow this story. I like to think I have and will continue to explain things in a way that makes sense to anyone who decides to read it, and once again, this is inspired by, not based on, therefore no previous knowledge is necessary. If you _have_ read/watched HDM or PB, there will be a few moments that might strike some familiarity~
> 
> With the above being said, I thought I should mention that the word 'dæmon' is going to appear an awful lot. 'Dæmons' are from the HDM series and they are described as a physical manifestation of the human soul that is in the form of an animal. A human is the dæmon and vice versa. Whereas they are bonded to one another, humans and dæmons can think for themselves, have differing opinions, etc, but generally they will be on the same wavelength. Dæmon is pronounced the same as the word ‘demon’.
> 
> In addition to all that, please note that the characters in the story are entirely _fictional_. These characters do have likeness and names inferred from public personas but they are fictional nonetheless. Nothing in this story is meant to depict how anyone acts in real life, nor how they are as people/what their views are or their relationship with others. I wanted to make that clear. This is a work of fiction and should not be viewed as reality.
> 
> Lastly if you are reading this, thank you so much for clicking on my story AT ALL, I appreciate it beyond words! I hope you have an absolutely wonderful day!
> 
> (p.s. This is not beta’d, I don’t have a beta reader, so if there’s any misspellings or grammatical errors I will fix them after. I’ve done my best to wing it on my own, so I hope everything is in order! heh :p)

If there was one thing Johnny hated, it was a blatant liar.

Lying gets you nowhere in the end, Johnny knew all too well. One lie was like the foundation in a house of cards. The more you built, the bigger it got and then eventually, it harder fell. And it always, always, fell.

Johnny wasn’t sure how he didn’t pick up on the signs sooner. He was relatively good at detecting when someone was lying to his face. But alas, this time it  _ wasn’t _ to his face, it was by written word, and Johnny had stupidly, blindly, put his trust in without a second thought. Because after all, why would such a long-time friend and business partner have any reason to deceit him?

It was funny, what greed did to people. Loyalty be damned. It was times like this Johnny had to remind himself that not everyone was on the same wavelength as him, despite seemingly wanting the same thing, and that loyalty wasn’t as invaluable to others as it was to himself.

It was times like this that reminded Johnny that no one outside of the family was to be trusted wholeheartedly, even if he’d known them since he was just a boy.

There was a yelp. Johnny slowly turned his head. His dæmon had the man’s red fox dæmon pinned to the floor by a heavy paw at its throat. The fox struggled, and Johnny’s dæmon snarled at it, the warning just as clear as if he’d spoken the words, before applying more pressure. The fox wheezed at the same time the man in front of Johnny did, his hands flying up to the invisible force he was undoubtedly feeling press down on his windpipe.

“Im curious to know exactly what you thought would happen, Arthur, when you decided to invest chunks of  _ my _ money into the pocket of some fuck I’ve never heard of in my life.” Johnny wondered aloud as he leaned back against his desk.

He watched Arthur gasp, his nails clawing at this throat and leaving red streaks in their wake. He fell from his knees onto his side, legs flailing and eyes quickly threatening to roll backwards. Johnny scoffed, but held up a hand.

“Laius,” he cautioned, and his dæmon swiftly removed his paw from the fox. “Can’t go killing them yet. He still hasn’t answered my question.” He said, sick satisfaction twisting in his gut as Arthur, Johnny’s business-partner of eight, long years, shook on the ground. The chipping Johnny had done to him thus far appeared to be working, at least, the implications of his actions appeared to finally be setting in.

“Killing would be the kindest option, believe me,” Laius growled, tone laced with the same annoyance Johnny could feel sizzling through their bond. The wolf shook out his fur, giving a scarce glance to the limp fox on the floor before stalking towards its human instead. “It will take me less than a second to rip your throat out.  _ Answer the question.” _ He snapped and Arthur flinched, holding both arms over his head and shielding himself from the wolf.

A useless effort. As if a pair of arms could stop Laius.

“Johnny, listen— you have to understand,” Arthur croaked, breathless. “My livelihood was at stake! He said he would help me once he had the money. It would have helped your business in the long run too, if you think about it!”

“Funnelling a man my money for months because he promised you things is a fucked up way of helping my business,” Johnny said through gritted teeth. "A man that's now nowhere to be seen, might I add, with _my money."_

Arthur looked away at that. He sure had some nerve. In a way, Johnny wouldn’t expect anything less from the man who managed his liquor production. But then again, Arthur had to have known he’d have nothing to lose at this point. Even if Johnny ultimately, miraculously, decided to let him crawl back under whatever bridge he was dragged out of with no further repercussions, he knew Laius wouldn’t let this go.

He glanced at his dæmon. The wolf stood over Arthur, teeth bared and a growl rumbling low in his throat. Johnny could feel the intense pull on his restraint through their bond, how tightly wound Laius was, how the wolf wouldn’t hesitate to snap if it weren’t for Johnny forcibly holding him back.

Johnny looked down at his hands, the knuckles on his right hand were busted, cut and bruised. Nothing compared to the state of the other man’s face though, and Johnny definitely didn’t regret pummelling his head for the first five minutes Arthur was thrown into his office.

“Ok, I admit I lied to you about how I used the money— and I’m sorry,” Arthur coughed. “I was going to tell you eventually, I swear! But he said if I told you so soon, his plans would fall through and I—“

Johnny rolled his eyes, head lolling with them in pure exasperation. He pushed himself off the desk and in a quick flurry of movement, kicked the man directly in the mouth. The fox dæmon yelped again from across the room, the same red bleeding from its mouth as Arthur now had.

“And why do you think he said that, you fuckwit!” Johnny yelled, all too loud, he was sure the men in the next room over would be able to hear him, but he couldn’t find himself to care, his anger flaring. He crouched down, grabbing a chunk of Arthur’s hair and pulling his head up so it was level with his own. He was met with a sea of red, choking and gurgling. There was barely any resemblance of his face striking through at this point. Johnny grit his teeth, making sure to grip Arthur’s hair tighter before he spoke again, and this time his words left no room for argument or deflection, “You know me, Arthur. I can do a lot more than just break your fucking nose and kick your teeth in. I know for a fact he didn’t just promise you help with your brewery.  _ Tell me _ what this guy really needed my money for.”

Laius, in his peripheral vision, stalked back towards the fox, picking the dæmon up in his jaws, directly around its neck. The fox hung heavily, its twitching legs the only indication that it was still conscious. Then Johnny could see it, the last of the fight leaving Arthur's body as he went slack in Johnny’s hold, letting out a high pitched wheeze, almost like a sob.

“H-he said he was going to buy guns too…shipping crates…other stuff he didn’t tell me about, in-in case the police found out. He said we could know when he’d sorted everything—“

“We?” Johnny yanked his hair. “Who’s ‘we’?”

Arthur swallowed, choked again. “Me and…his other men. He was…“

“Recruiting people?” Johnny finished, the puzzle pieces clicking into place. Ah, so it was like that. Clever, whoever this man was that had managed to turn Arthur away from his original loyalties, but stupid to believe Johnny would remain entirely in the dark about it. Or perhaps not stupid? Perhaps Johnny’s timing of finding out he’d been crossed was playing right into this fuck’s plan. This guy already had his money after all, more than likely had some of the things he’d claimed to buy with it. Johnny scowled.

How unbelievably annoying.

He dropped Arthur back to the floor, his body landing with a loud _ thump. _

“Yuta!” he called towards the door of his office. A few moments later, the man came walking through, his dæmon in tow. Yuta looked at Arthur’s body on the floor then at the dæmon between Laius’ jaws. He raised an eyebrow at Johnny, a few strands of brown hair falling over his eyes. “Would you mind?” Johnny asked, gesturing to the body.

Yuta didn’t say anything straight away. He walked over to Arthur, pushing back his long blazer to put his hands in his trouser pockets, a picture of casual, then jabbed the toe of his shoe underneath Arthur’s chin. He didn’t move.

“Huh.” Yuta said, as if the unconscious body was a satisfying sight. “So, did he tell you what his grand plan was for doing what he did?” He asked, kicking Arthur’s shoulder so he rolled onto his back.

“Sort of. He admitted the guy has recruits. Not sure if he meant arms or runners, but he’s got more people on his payroll anyhow. Also that he was buying guns with my money.”

“Guns? We’re dealing with a wannabe gang leader?” Yuta’s voice was airy. “That’s funny. Haven’t had one of those in a while. Don’t suppose he said anything about  _ where _ this guy is?”

“No,” Laius stepped forward after having placed the fox dæmon beside its human. “Said he was never told his real name either. The guy apparently referred to himself as  _ ‘Jehovah’.” _ The wolf sneered.

Yuta barked out a laugh. “Sounds like a pretentious fuck. He shouldn’t be  _ that _ hard to track down if he’s being as bold as buying guns. We’ll start making plans.” Johnny nodded an affirmative as Yuta knelt beside Arthur. “What are we doing with him then?”

“Sending him back,” Johnny said, to which Yuta raised both brows at him. Laius also gave him a puzzled look, and the bond in Johnny’s chest suddenly sparked with irritation. “He could still be of use. We’ll monitor him.” He said pointedly. Yuta gave a quick  _ ah _ in understanding.

“I’ll tell Jaemin he’s got a new job then?”

“Please. Tell him to come to me tomorrow, I’ll have some things to sort out with him.” Johnny informed, and Yuta gave him a lazy salute.

Yuta’s dæmon, an  [ Asiatic golden cat ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Asian_Golden_cat.jpg) , picked up the fox dæmon in her mouth as Yuta picked Arthur up, effortlessly throwing the bloody man over his shoulder.

“Take Jeno with you, just in case you run into any trouble.” Johnny added. Yuta left as quickly as he had arrived, and now Johnny was left to stare at his bloodstained rug.

“That’s not going to come out.” He said needlessly, because he knew what was coming when the bond sparked again.

“You realise he’s going to run straight back to that guy,” Laius stated. He sounded more disappointed than anything else. “Now he’ll have even more reason to, since he’s no longer our ally.”

“That’s exactly why I let him live,” Johnny walked back round his desk, taking his abandoned whiskey glass and refilling it. On impulse, he sloshed a bit onto his cut knuckles, grunting a curse at the sharp sting. The sting continued long after he’d taken a couple of gulps of the drink. “Jaemin will go do his thing, then any other move Arthur makes, we will be prepared for.”

“He doesn’t deserve to live for betraying our trust like that.”

Johnny hummed, thoughts flying past at a mile a minute, the buzz of the whiskey slowly seeping into his veins. He looked at Laius and his dæmon looked back. The wolf’s expression was stern, his maw clamped shut and ears drawn back. Their bond thrummed, and under the anger and irritation at the forefront of Laius’ side, Johnny found anxiousness, unease. His dæmon was concerned, concerned about not yet knowing all the variables. The feeling was mutual.

“No,” Johnny agreed. He swirled the last of his drink around the glass before downing it in one go. “But he doesn’t deserve to die prematurely either. As I said, he is still of use  _ and _ our only lead at the moment. Can’t let anger cloud our judgement, unfortunately.”

Laius sighed. “I just hope you know what you’re doing.”

Johnny put the glass down with a quiet thud.

“Not yet, not entirely. But if this is going to be as much of a hassle to sort out as I think it is, there is something I can do now,” he said, grabbing his coat. “Come on, let’s go.”

✵

  
When Johnny stepped into the house, he first saw Vareck without Donghyuck at his side, which was always a telltale sign that his little brother was preoccupied in a rather immodest way. He peered behind the German shepherd dæmon and found Mark’s lynx dæmon trying to hide herself away from Johnny’s pointed stare.

“I presume that my brother is upstairs?” He asked Vareck. The dog looked like a deer caught in headlights for a good moment before he looked down at the carpet sheepishly, not saying anything. Johnny shook his head, letting out a sigh as he bypassed both dæmons to proceed up the staircase.

Johnny heard the muffled groans and the squeaking of bed springs the moment he stepped onto the landing. He took little time in striding to his brother’s bedroom door, and took even less time in twisting the knob and swinging it open. The wood banged loudly against the side wall and there was a shriek from inside the room. The duvet cover on the bed flailed as the two shapes under it scrambled to poke their heads out, eyes trained at the door, faces scrunched into scowls.

The recognition struck quickly because Mark made a sound between a gasp and a choke as he ducked his head back down out of sight, save for his mop of black hair. Donghyuck sat up straighter, duvet falling around his waist and a dozen expressions flicking across his face until it finally settled on abashment.

“Perhaps one should learn how to lock their bedroom door before engaging in such activities,” Johnny said, only mildly amused at the affronted noise Donghyuck let out. Before his brother could complain, he spoke again, “I need to speak with you. Now, preferably.” And Johnny stepped back out, mindful to shut the door again before heading back downstairs.

Laius had claimed one of the long sofas in the living area, orange eyes staring down the other two dæmons as they huddled by the fireplace, avoiding the wolf’s gaze.

Donghyuck appeared a few minutes later, practically stomping down the stairs and looking like a child that had just had his favourite toy taken away. He was only wearing an old, tattered robe, obviously having thrown on the first thing he found. He came to a stop in front of Johnny.

“What?” he asked, tone irritable. Johnny smacked him upside the head. “Ow— hey!”

“Don’t ‘what’ me. And stop looking so moody, you can go back to your boy soon.” 

Donghyuck scowled but a red blush slowly crept onto his cheeks. He may have almost been eighteen, but his brother was still a kid nonetheless. Johnny smiled before he could stop himself, bringing up his uninjured hand to ruffle Donghyuck’s already ruffled hair.

“So, how are things with you and Mark?”

The boy frowned, swatting Johnny’s hand away. “I doubt you came all the way here to ask about my love life,” he grunted. “Has something else happened?”

“When isn’t there something happening, Hyuck?”

“You know what I mean,” Donghyuck held out a hand towards his dæmon and Vareck immediately came to sit by his side. He then levelled Johnny with a suspicious look. “Yuta came for Jeno not too long ago. Said you told them to take Arthur back to the brewery. Why’d you do that? I’d have at least let Laius rip his arms off or something first, considering what he did.”

From across the room, Laius huffed through his nose, an imitation of a laugh.

“Yes, well. Some things can’t be done in haste.” Johnny ignored his brother’s heavy eye roll. “And I’m not here to talk about him. This is about the horses.”

Donghyuck tilted his head. “The horses?”

“I imagine I’m going to be busy for a while, so it would be best if someone else oversaw our racing sect. Organise our race entries, make sure our bookies are doing what they’re supposed to, all that stuff. You think you can do that?”

Donghyuck and Vareck stared at him, eyes comically wide.

“Really?” Donghyuck said, the corners of his mouth twitching in disbelief. “You’d let me do that?”

“Of course,” Johnny ruffled his hair again. “I think you’re capable. You’ve been watching me do it long enough, it’s logical to put you in charge for a bit.”

His brother stood with his mouth agape, then quickly morphed his expression into one more serious, but the furious wagging of Vareck’s tail behind them easily gave away his inner excitement. Still just a kid.

“This is serious though, Hyuck,” Johnny continued. “You will be standing in my place, therefore representing me. If I find out you’re using your privileges for bad, there will be trouble.”

It was a half threat. Donghyuck already had privileges in the family, and being entirely in charge of a faction for a while wouldn’t stretch them that much further, but newfound arrogance in his new role was a sure thing, and Johnny wouldn’t allow his brother to act out of turn. Not in his name.

“I understand, Johnny. I’ve got it covered for however long you need.” Donghyuck said, a confident grin on his face.

“Good. Then it’s settled.” Johnny said with a grin of his own, turning on his heel to head back towards the front door.

“Wait, Johnny!” Donghyuck called and Johnny stopped. “Does this mean this Arthur situation is really bad? You’ve never asked me to cover a whole faction for you before.”

“I wouldn’t say _really_ bad,” Johnny mused, because so far that was the truth. It was probably really bad from a regular person’s perspective, but on the scale of how bad things have gotten for Johnny in the past, he would have to say this issue was currently in the shallower end. More incredibly frustrating than anything else. “I can just tell it’s going to be a hassle. Racing season is near. If something comes up during that, we’ll have to pull out this season, and I don’t fancy losing any more money. But if you stand in my place, we won’t need to worry about that.”

“So you’ll still be around?”

“Of course. I’ll assist where I can, but my priorities might change as we sort this situation out. Which is why you taking the reins for now is the wiser option.”

Donghyuck nodded in understanding, then he frowned. “You’ll tell me if things start going south, right? You won’t leave me in the dark about it? I want to help too, you know.”

“I know,” Johnny smiled at his brother’s hardened expression. Always so steadfast. “And I won’t. You’re helping now, aren’t you, by agreeing to cover for me?”

“Yes, and I promise I’ll do well.”

“I know you will,” Johnny reached out to pat Donghyuck’s cheek affectionately, which the younger didn’t appreciate at all, before walking to the door once more. “We'll be discussing details tomorrow by the way, so enjoy the rest of your evening whilst you can.” He added suggestively, laughing at the way Donghyuck groaned in disgust.

Johnny held the door open for Laius to walk through, “Bye Mark!” He shouted back towards the staircase.

He heard Mark’s small, “Oh— bye Johnny!”, just before the door shut.

✵

  
The walk from Donghyuck’s house to the Wheatsheaf pub was not a long one. It was cold, the late night air nipping at his fingertips and leaving an unpleasant sting on his cut knuckles.

“You should have bandaged your hand.” Laius said from beside him. Johnny looked down at his dæmon’s paw and saw the mirror image of his own injury on the wolf, fur matted with dried blood. Laius appeared to be better at controlling the ache of it though, as his steps did not falter as he trotted over the cobblestones.

“Getting air to the wound.” Johnny replied. He heard the wolf’s annoyed huff through their bond rather than from the dæmon himself.

There weren’t many people out on the streets at this hour. They barely saw anyone until the Wheatsheaf came into view, a small crowd of men and their dæmons standing outside with pints of beer and cigarettes in hand. Laughter echoed down the street, smoke spiralled up into the air and drinks spilt over glasses and onto the ground.

One by one, the men in the crowd noticed Johnny and Laius’ approaching figures and the cheering began to die down. Each of them put a hand to their flat caps and nodded their heads at them when they arrived at the pub doors.

“Hello, Mr. Seo.” They each murmured respectfully, and Johnny nodded back, gracing them all with a small smile. It was enough indication that everything was fine, and the men quickly regained their previous volume, carrying on their conversations.

Johnny turned his head away, about to pull on the metal handle of the one of the doors, when someone to his right caught his eye instead. There was another man leaning against the wall, but he was standing alone. Johnny had never seen him before, that he was certain of. He knew this town like the back of his hand, people, buildings and dæmons alike. This man was someone new.

He had brown hair and a fringe just falling over his brow. He had angular facial features, a sharp jaw and a straight nose. Handsome, pretty, even, like the models in those clothing shop posters. He was a few inches shorter than Johnny, smaller in general, slimly built. He regarded Johnny curiously, brown eyes reflecting the surrounding street lamps and making it look as though they were sparkling. Johnny gave him a quick once over. His clothes were rather straightforward, a shirt with an unbuttoned collar, a blazer that looked a size too big and some slim fitting trousers.

Behind his legs sat his dæmon, hidden in the shadows. It was hard to make out its form from where Johnny stood, but he could tell it was big.

The man did not nod at Johnny like the other men had. He was looking at him like he was contemplating something, features unmoving, and Johnny found himself stuck in the moment, oddly intrigued. Very few confidently stared him in the face, even some of the ones that had worked for him for a while still found it hard to hold his gaze.

Johnny stared right back, cocking his head, a silent invitation for the stranger to speak up, since he clearly had something on his mind. Johnny was curious to find out what.

Laius growled at him then, giving Johnny an impatient nudge at his side, and Johnny blinked, looking away. He pulled the heavy door open and his dæmon hurried inside ahead of him. When he glanced back at the man, he saw him raising a brow beneath his fringe, in interest? in confusion? Johnny couldn’t tell.

Johnny looked away first, dropping the door handle and walking inside before it slammed shut behind him.

“Good evening, Mr. Seo.” One man greeted as Johnny began walking through the pub.

“Evening, Mr. Seo.” Greeted another.

“Good evening to you.” A chorus of voices followed as Johnny headed towards the door situated at the far end of the room, right beside the bar. Johnny pushed it open, the golden plaque with the word _PRIVATE_ etched into it shining.

Inside, he was met with the very familiar scene of Jaehyun, Jungwoo and Doyoung seated at the single round table in the center of the room. There was a sizeable smoke cloud lingering around the overhead lights, the stench of tobacco alone enough to make Johnny feel as though he’d taken a drag himself. He caught sight of Laius under the table with the other three dæmons, seemingly deep in conversation.

“Johnny!” Jungwoo greeted, voice high and hearty. Brown tuffs of his hair stood up in all directions and his cheeks were rosy red in colour. Johnny looked towards Jungwoo’s pint glass and found it on it’s final dregs. That explained it, Jungwoo was terrible at holding his drink.

“Hey,” he greeted back, sliding into the booth, the old leather groaning under his weight. “Can I?” He asked Jaehyun, gesturing to the end of his cigarette. Jaehyun smiled, cheeks dimpling as he passed it over.

“Wow,” Jaehyun said, nodding at Johnny’s hand as he took a long drag of the cig. “You really went to town on our old friend, huh?”

“He deserved it.”

“Damn right he did,” Doyoung grumbled from across the table, eyes squinting at the newspaper in front of him. “I caught Yuta just before he and Jeno left. The guy looked dead,” he said bluntly as he moved his beer glass away from Jungwoo’s wandering hands. “I was surprised when I saw he still had a dæmon.”

Johnny hummed, blowing out the smoke in his lungs to join the rest up above. He stubbed the butt of the cig out in the ashtray.

“I’m changing some things around,” Johnny informed them after a few beats. Jaehyun and Doyoung both sat forwards. Jungwoo seemed too far gone to listen properly, and Doyoung apparently knew this too, as he ended up passing the younger the last of his beer to keep him occupied. “Just until we find this guy. With the amount of money he took, I presume he’s going to be a pain in the ass to deal with. So for the time being, Hyuck will be overseeing the racing sect. Just until this is sorted.”

Jaehyun and Doyoung stared at him.

“He’ll have his work cut out.” Said Doyoung.

“He has Mark, I know he will help if we're too busy,” Johnny leaned back against the booth, head tipped back and eyes focussed on the lights, only blinking when his vision became blurry. “It’s one less thing to worry about and it should speed this whole thing up. I’m tired of it already.” He murmured.

Jaehyun and Doyoung exchanged a glance, then Doyoung pushed himself out of their booth.

“I’ll go get you a drink. What do you want?”

Two beers in and Johnny felt a little looser. Jungwoo had since fallen asleep, and Jaehyun and Doyoung kept the conversation going, sensing Johnny’s tense mood and talking of lighter things instead, suggesting they discuss plans when everyone’s head was clearer (“The situation won’t change in an evening,” Doyoung said. “And it’s not like we can do anything right this second anyway. So drink something, would you?”). 

Johnny told them how he’d found Donghyuck not long before, in the midst of rolling around with his boyfriend of just over a year. Jaehyun burst out laughing, falling onto his side with the force of it and knocking into Jungwoo in the process. Doyoung looked amused, biting his bottom lip between his teeth, no doubt filing that information away to tease Donghyuck about later.

Doyoung was about to fetch them another round of drinks when a shout came from inside the pub.

_“There’s a fight out front! People are placing bets, lads, come on!”_ Came a muffled voice, followed by the scraping of many wooden chairs and footfalls.

Johnny looked at his close friends, they both shrugged back. A fight in this pub, or any pub that he’d been to for that matter, wasn’t uncommon. Johnny never really felt the need to intervene in them unless one of his own men was involved, but when the door to their private room flew open, he had been on his feet in an instant.

“Johnny,” Taeil, the owner of the Wheatsheaf, breathed. He looked stressed and annoyed, which was never a good sign for the pub owner. “Please can you do something? They’ve made a huge crowd outside. They’re going to break something. Or kill each other. None of them are listening to me. Can you please get them to stop?” He asked, though it was more of an order than a query.

Taeil was older than Johnny by a year, and he used that to his advantage whenever he could, usually to get favours such as this. Not that Johnny minded, he had known Taeil since he was young, he was just as close a friend as the other three in the room were.

Taeil didn’t wait for an answer. He walked back out, wringing his apron with a frustrated grunt.

Abiding by his friend’s request, Johnny signalled Jaehyun to follow him as he made his way out the room, pacing quickly to the pub doors where he could hear the excitable roaring of the patrons outside.

There was in fact a large crowd outside, standing in a wide circle and shouting and cheering at whoever was in the center of it. Laius made quick work of pushing his way through the wall of men, causing them to stumble back, apologies falling from their lips when they realised who it was.

Johnny paid them no mind, breaching the front of the crowd to see one man on top of another, straddling his hips and wrapping his hands around his throat. The man beneath him kicked his legs out, tried to push the other’s hands off to little avail, the man pinning him down simply shifted his weight, dodging the hands that tried to claw at his face.

“Fucker!” the man on top yelled as the crowd egged him on, telling him to win, that they had their bets placed on him. “Think you can steal from me, you little shit?!”

Off to the side, their two dæmons were in a similar position. Johnny was surprised when he realised the one pinned to the ground was a big cat, a leopard, judging by its coat, writhing underneath a large dog dæmon. The leopard was bigger than the dog, but the dæmon was clearly struggling as a result of its human’s current position; on his back with the air being forced from his lungs.

When a particularly loud choked noise came from the men, Johnny stepped forward.

“Hey!” he called at them, striding right into the middle of the makeshift ring. Taeil had asked him to break it up, so that was what he would do. The crowd grew quieter with each step he took. “That’s enough. Pack it up!”

He was close enough now to make out who they were. The one on top worked in one of the nearby factories, Johnny had seen him around before, he was a regular at the Wheatsheaf— Chanwoo? Chanwon? something like that. It took him a couple of seconds to guess who the second man was before it clicked, and Johnny arched a brow, _huh._ It was the man from outside, sharp jawed and bold, but now red in the face with a mighty split in his bottom lip, having the life choked out of him.

“Fuck you!” the man— Chanwoo or Chanwon?— seethed at Johnny, arms straining as he continued to squeeze the other’s neck. “He tried to rob me! I’m not letting this prick walk away!”

Johnny didn’t even have time to formulate a response. Jaehyun, quite literally, beat him to the punch as swung his fist directly at the man’s face. The man lost his balance, letting go of his hold and falling off to the side, dazed. The other man gasped, coughing and spluttering as he tried to take air into his lungs. The leopard dæmon did the same from across the way, but it was quicker to recover than its human. It swung one huge paw up to swipe at the dog, emitting a roar loud enough to echo down the street and the dog stumbled back.

Jaehyun pushed the man he’d punched down with his foot, keeping him on the ground as Johnny turned to the people still gathered around.

“Everyone go home! Go on!” He shouted, and the crowd listened, ducking their heads down and fleeing the scene quickly. The retreating footfalls faded into the distance, and Johnny took a step closer, standing over the sharp jawed man, still flat on his back.

He was about to crouch beside him when the leopard dæmon suddenly appeared, fast, silent on its paws, and growled at him, a very clear warning: _back off._ This close, he could see the dæmon clearly, it was a [clouded leopard](https://www.worldatlas.com/upload/3a/df/52/shutterstock-740325778.jpg), beautiful in a way only a big cat could be; dangerously so, with fierce eyes and even fiercer teeth that Johnny had the misfortune of seeing as the cat bared them at him.

Johnny hadn’t reacted, but it didn’t stop Laius from getting involved, positioning himself in front of Johnny and snarling back louder, angrier. Whereas the leopard was weighty, with huge paws and a wide body, Laius was several inches taller, bigger and just as imposing.

The leopard was heaving, undoubtedly still shaking off being choked, but it stood its ground over its human, a fire burning behind its big, brown eyes, daring one of them to move closer.

Johnny looked past the dæmon and found the man looking up at him, chest rising and falling deeply and eyes darting all around his face. He looked wary, a little startled, a far cry from how he’d looked at Johnny just a couple of hours before. After what felt like an age, the man closed his eyes, let out a shuddering sigh, then tapped the leopard against its side.

“It’s ok,” he said, and his voice was hoarse. “It’s alright. Stand back.” He ordered. It took a moment, but the leopard did as it was told and walked to the man’s side, offering its neck for him to throw an arm around so he could be pulled into a seated position. This time, Johnny managed to kneel down next to him.

“You alright?” He asked even though the answer was quite obvious, _no,_ but the man nodded his head anyway, somewhat distractedly.

“Explain.” He heard Jaehyun spit from where he was still holding the other guy down. Jaehyun’s dæmon, a puma, was sitting beside him, watching the dog and making sure it wouldn’t wander any closer and try to interfere.

“The little bastard!” Chanwoo— Johnny finally remembered— grunted. “Tried to pickpocket me and thought I wouldn’t notice! Acting like a city whore to try and take my money off me!”

Johnny felt his eyes widen. He flicked his gaze back to the man in question. He had his head down and was holding one of his hands to his chest. Johnny could make out the furrow of his brows, the hard set of his jaw. He didn’t deny the accusation, and judging from his dæmon’s form and his demeanour earlier on, Johnny thought he might have done, if the claim had been false.

Johnny rubbed at his temple. This technically wasn’t something he should have a say in. This didn’t involve him, nor any of his men or his friends, but he’d already gotten this involved, and he wouldn’t put it past Chanwoo to finish what he had started once him and Jaehyun were out of the picture.

He looked at the man again and saw his shoulders shaking, his fingers twitching anxiously, breath coming out stunted. The thought of leaving him with Chanwoo didn’t sit right with Johnny at all. Johnny grit his teeth, then with a huff, he spoke up.

“Did he take any of your things?”

“Well he was—“

“I asked if he took anything. Yes or no.”

Chanwoo scoffed. “No. He tried to, but I caught him before he could.”

“Right, then this is no longer your problem. You can go now.”

Chanwoo looked baffled as Jaehyun removed his foot. “He said you can go.” Jaehyun repeated when the man didn’t immediately move. “Fuck off back home.” He said, and Chanwoo stood to his feet, wise not to say anything further. He sent a glare in Johnny’s direction before turning his back on them all, stalking off down the cobblestones with his dæmon close behind.

The man in front of Johnny let out a relieved sigh when he eventually disappeared out of sight.

“What’s your name?” Johnny asked. The other’s head snapped back to look at him, frowning like Johnny had just asked him something absurd. “I just saved you from getting choked to death in front of a chunk of the town. The least you can do is tell me your name.”

The man searched his face again, muscle in his jaw twitching nervously.

“Taeyong.” He finally answered, voice quiet.

“I’m Johnny.” he introduced, then pointed at Jaehyun. “That’s Jaehyun.”

Taeyong slowly bowed his head to them both. “Thank you…for stopping him.”

“Yeah, well,” Johnny pushed himself back up. “Be thankful you didn’t actually take anything off him. You wouldn’t have had much of a leg to stand on otherwise.”

He offered his hand and Taeyong looked up at it. He blinked, then hesitantly grabbed it with his own. Johnny hauled him up, he was just as light as he looked and on both feet again in one swift movement. He let go when the leopard dæmon stood by Taeyong’s legs, supporting him as he wobbled a bit.

“So,” Johnny said, looking him over. Taeyong’s clothes were all dirty now, scuffed and torn in places. “Is that why you were looking at me earlier? Were you looking to pickpocket me too?”

Taeyong blanched. He quickly shook his head. “No. No—I wasn’t, really. It’s just that, I found you…” Johnny tilted his head, prompting him to finish that sentence. “…interesting, is all.”

“Interesting?”

Taeyong nodded minutely. “I saw the way those men bowed at you when you showed up, I was curious. I really wasn’t planning on doing that to you, I swear.” He said, round eyes blinking but meeting Johnny’s own all the same.

He sounded sincere about it. Johnny wasn’t sure whether he believed him, but it didn’t matter, he had more questions, “If you say so. But do you care to tell me why you’re going around pickpocketing at all? The people round here really don’t appreciate that sort of thing. I’m sure they wouldn’t appreciate it if they knew I’d let you walk away and continue doing it, either.”

A gust of cold wind raced past, blowing the hair out of Taeyong’s face. One of his eyebrows had a gash in it and there was a darkening bruise high on his cheekbone. Taeyong pursed his lips, a hand coming down to stroke his dæmon’s head, an action that appeared to one born out of nerves, if the way his hand shook was anything to go by.

“It was so…I could buy some food.” he finally said, shame evident on his face. He averted his gaze from Johnny, back down to the cobbles. “That was all. I wasn’t going to take a lot, just enough to buy something small.”

“You sure know how to pick ‘em.” Jaehyun murmured, coming to stand next to Johnny. “You chose a guy that’s almost twice your size? What did you think was going to happen?”

Taeyong’s shoulders hunched. “I thought he was too drunk to notice. It doesn’t matter now though, does it? I didn’t take anything. I won’t be trying it again.”

“And we’re just supposed to take your word for it?” Jaehyun said dubiously, arms crossing over his chest. Taeyong didn’t say anything, just continued to look down, his hand gripping the fur on his dæmon’s neck so tightly it was turning his knuckles white.

Johnny pondered. It was late, he was tired, he’d spent the majority of the day wrapped up in the Arthur fiasco, he really had no desire to stretch this out any longer than necessary. With a sigh, he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his wallet. He could see Jaehyun’s face out the corner of his eye, one that meant he was definitely going to question him about this later, but Johnny brushed it off in favour of taking out a few bills and holding them out in front of Taeyong.

Taeyong drew his head back, a small gasp leaving his lips as his eyes flicked back and forth between Johnny and the money.

“You need money for food? Here it is. Now there’s no reason to go pickpocketing people, is there?” He said, waving the notes at him.

Taeyong breathed, slowly shook his head, “I don’t think I should—” He started, but Jaehyun quickly interjected.

“It would be wise for you to just accept it.” He said, voice low.

Taeyong swallowed, then reached his hand up, arm moving in staccato bursts, until he gently took the money from Johnny’s grip. He ducked into a deep bow afterwards even though the action caused him to visibly wince. “T-Thank you. I’m…I’m not sure how I can repay you, though…”

“As long as I’m not told to break up anymore fights caused by you robbing people, then that’s enough. This is a one time thing though, so if it happens again, you’re on your own.” Johnny warned. He didn’t wait for a response, he turned to Jaehyun. “Come on, those two are still inside.” He said, turning around with a final glance at Taeyong who stood there silently, looking at the money in his hands with a conflicted expression on his face. He caught Johnny’s eye a second before Johnny turned away, a flicker of _something_ in his own that Johnny couldn’t place.

He ignored it, putting his hands in his pockets and walking back to the pub doors.

“What made you do that?” Jaehyun asked once they were back inside.

Johnny thought about it.

“Not sure. But I know I could use another drink.”


	2. A Storm Brews

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to post this chapter much later but i'm impulsive and impatient so here we are

Jaemin was a few months younger than Donghyuck, yet probably one of the most competent people within the Seo family business for getting his tasks done with very minimal issues.

As Johnny had asked, the boy arrived in Johnny’s office late next morning, a brilliant smile on his face and his ring-tailed lemur dæmon perched on his shoulder. He pulled a notebook and pen out his pocket without Johnny having even said anything and sat down in one of the leather chairs in front of his desk. The lemur hopped to his other shoulder and Jaemin blindly held out his arm, allowing the primate to walk across and drop down into the chair next to him.

“Morning,” Jaemin greeted, uncapping his pen. “Yuta told me there’s spying to be done. So, what are we monitoring our old friend Arthur for then?”

Johnny and Jaemin spent the remainder of the morning formulating a plan, one that ensured Johnny would know his old business partner’s every move. It mainly consisted of Johnny explaining what information he wanted and then Jaemin making suggestions on how to make that happen, and by the time midday rolled around they had mostly settled on an arrangement, one that Jaemin seemed confident would be clear-cut. Well, to begin with, anyway.

“I mean, it’s pretty simple to start,” Jaemin said, pressing the pen to his lips as he flicked between the notes he’d jotted down. “Just regular old snooping and seeing what he’s doing. Amara here will be able to take care of most of that.” He grinned, turning to look at his dæmon. The lemur grinned back, then looked at Johnny, nodding in confirmation.

“Then what about after?” Johnny asked.

Jaemin’s brows ticked down. “Well, considering the state you left him in, I imagine he’s not going to be doing much for a while. But like you said, when he’s recovered he’ll more than likely start seeking out the guy he was giving the money to again. If what he said was true and he doesn’t know the guy’s real name, or even where he’s based, it’s going to be a little more difficult to get the information you want without raising suspicion. Someone being that secretive wouldn’t do business in plain sight, I’m sure.”

Johnny nodded, tapping his fingers against the dark wood of the desk. Jaemin was right, they had to move in silence. If Arthur caught onto the fact he was being watched, he’d surely tell ‘Jehovah’ the same. Johnny already had a good idea of the kind of man _Jehovah_ was. He would cancel any and all contact in a heartbeat if he suspected one of the men he’d hired being tailed, because that’s the exact same thing Johnny would do. If Jehovah dropped Arthur then Johnny’s only lead thus far goes down the drain with him. Johnny couldn’t let that happen, not yet.

“It’s a case of waiting to see what happens, for the most part,” Jaemin continued. “We’re basing this on a lot of presumptions right now. It might not end up as difficult as I think, but I can’t promise that, so I won’t. For now we’ll just do things quietly, then we can figure out how to proceed further when the time comes. Does that sound good?”

A logical kid. Johnny nodded in agreement. “Sounds like the only thing we can do. I trust that I can leave you to it for now then?”

“Sure,” Jaemin said, pushing himself to his feet. Amara quickly returned to her place on his shoulder, long black and white tail hanging down his arm. “I’ll come by again when I find anything of interest. I’ll go get my things prepared.” and with that he bowed, once to Johnny and then to Laius, before turning to make his leave.

“Make sure you get lunch first, Jaemin.” Johnny called after the younger before he disappeared.

 _“Oh, of course!”_ He heard ring from down the hall.

“What do you suggest we do now?” Laius asked in the silence that followed. Johnny looked outside the window. Dark clouds gathered in the sky, a clear sign as any that a storm was brewing.

Laius’ side of the bond was angsty, itching with a need to do something. The wolf wasn’t a fan of sitting around and waiting for things to happen, he was keen to get the ball rolling, be presented with the results. Johnny wasn’t fond of taking things slowly either, but he understood it was necessary this time around, lest they blow the whole thing before they even got started.

He brought his freshly bandaged hand down to Laius’ head, carding his fingers through the black and grey fur in a motion he could feel being mimicked through their bond, calm, placating.

“Well, we carry on as normal. As for _right now,_ I suggest we also get some lunch. I’m starving.”

✵

It took two days for the clouds to open up. Johnny hadn’t witnessed a downpour like it in a while. The rain was thick and unyielding, having soaked through the shoulders of his coat mere seconds after stepping out his front door. Now, he could feel the cold damp slowly make its way down his back, over his arms, leaving an unpleasant chill in his bones.

Johnny reached the Wheatsheaf not long after Laius, the wolf having taken his instruction to run on ahead. Laius waited by the doors as Johnny caught his breath, cold, wind and rain leaving his throat sore, chest like ice.

He was stripping off his coat under the cover of the pub canopy when he heard his name being called, faint and hesitant, almost drowned out by the storm. He looked from left to right, seeking the source of the voice, then caught sight of a figure standing in one of the alcoves along the side wall of the building. They were masked by rain and the dull shadow cast by the overhead clouds, but when Johnny’s eyes flicked downwards and he saw the big, reflective eyes of a big cat staring right at him, the recognition struck, and Johnny paused, mildly surprised.

The last person he would expect to be calling his name would be the pickpocketing stranger from a few nights before. Johnny’s eyes narrowed, suspicious. What was he doing back here? Had he been waiting for Johnny to show up? The majority of the town had sensibly stayed indoors today, yet there Taeyong stood, in the worst of it, sheltered only by a shallow alcove and calling Johnny’s name.

Laius clearly recognised him too, as he took a careful step in front of Johnny. He didn’t growl, but the movement was pointed enough.

“You called my name?” Johnny asked, raising his voice over the racing wind.

The figure moved jerkily, then stepped out of the wall towards him, dæmon close to his side. His hair was flat against his head, no hat, no hood, just a thin coat that stuck to each line of his body, entirely drenched. Johnny wondered just how long he had been out there for.

“Hello, Taeyong,” he greeted, and Taeyong’s eyes widened a fraction, looking taken aback. “What, you didn’t think I’d remember who you were?” He questioned and Taeyong looked back down at the puddles surrounding his shoes.

“Hello again,” he mumbled with a small bow. “Would I…be able to speak with you? Please?” He then asked. Now Johnny was taken aback.

“Speak with me?” he parroted just as the wind pulled the rain sideways, striking him from under the door canopy in a horrible spray. He shivered, looking at Taeyong’s rain-sodden self then back at the pub doors. With a sigh, he pulled one open, “Come on.” he said, nodding inside. Taeyong hesitated. “You want to talk to me, then come inside. I’m not drowning out here.”

Taeyong put his head down, walking past the door with a small thanks, leopard trailing behind him, Johnny quickly followed suit.

Most of the Wheatsheaf’s regulars were present, not as loud as they usually were and looking as wet as each other, but they easily filled the space. All eyes were on the two of them as the door slammed shut, more specifically, they stayed on Taeyong after having bowed their heads at Johnny.

Johnny knew the majority of them would have been there the night of the incident, that they most probably recognised the pickpocket despite his soaked appearance. If they did, they didn’t say anything, _wouldn’t_ have said anything, not whilst Johnny was there.

“Follow me.” Johnny said, his voice low as he began walking to the private room.

Taeil caught his eye from behind the bar. The owner gave him an inquisitive eyebrow raise, eyes flicking between him and Taeyong.

“I’ll have the usual, please.” Johnny said to him and Taeil nodded slowly, catching the coin Johnny tossed at him and turning to start making his drink. “After you.” He said to Taeyong, opening the private room door. The other gave him a fleeting glance before heading inside.

Taeyong surveyed his surroundings silently. A droplet of water broke free from his flattened fridge and raced down his nose, falling to the ground and joining the slowly increasing puddle by his feet. He did not shake or shiver, he looked as curious as he did tentative, Johnny could see him grinding his molars from the insistent twitch in his jaw. He looked back at Johnny when he clicked the door shut, leaving just the two of them in the room and away from the prying eyes of the rest of the pub.

Johnny hung his coat on the wall hook, pulling off his cap and hanging it up with it. He suggested for Taeyong to do the same, which he did, not that it helped his current state, his shirt and trousers weren’t much drier. Johnny lowered himself into the booth, gesturing to the opposite end of the table for Taeyong to take a seat too. Taeyong ran his hands through his hair as he did, pushing the wet strands off of his face and shaking the water off his fingers.

Laius sat beside Johnny, ears up but eyes hard and directed at Taeyong. The other man looked back at the wolf, face carefully blank but Johnny caught the cautious glint in his eye anyway.

“This is Laius.” Johnny introduced. Taeyong blinked at him, then bowed his head at the dæmon.

“Cacia.” Taeyong said, hand falling to the leopard’s head as the big cat sat herself down next to him.

“A pleasure,” Johnny respectfully bowed to his dæmon too. The leopard returned it, even if it was nothing more than a slight tilt of her head. “So, here I am. What do you want to talk to me about?” He asked.

Before Taeyong could open his mouth, the door opened again and Taeil walked in, wordlessly placing Johnny’s drink on the table and backing out quickly. The click of the door left a silence hanging over the room, one that was soon broken by Taeyong clearing his throat. “I wanted to thank you. Properly, I mean. The other night was kind of rushed and I was still—” Taeyong touched his throat and Johnny saw the darkened bruise wrapping around it, big, blotchy. “Not feeling great, so…” He trailed off.

Johnny perused him for a moment, humming thoughtfully. “Were you really waiting out in the rain just to tell me a couple of words?” He asked, and Taeyong pursed his lips, sucking a breath through his nose. The leopard’s ears flicked down, a small huff leaving her maw.

“You saved my life,” Taeyong said. His expression was stern. “You deserve a lot more than a verbal thanks, but unfortunately I can’t offer that. So this is the least I can do.”

How interesting. Johnny took a sip of his whiskey, eyes lingering on Taeyong’s cut bottom lip over the edge of his glass. Taeyong’s face didn’t look quite as battered as it had done the other night, the wounds had settled in now, beginning to scab over where they had been fresh and bloody. He was still nice to look at all the same. Johnny found himself admiring.

“Well,” he murmured after a few beats. “Thanks gratefully accepted, I guess.” He held up his whiskey glass to Taeyong and then took another gulp.

“There is something else,” Taeyong said, waiting for Johnny to look at him again before he continued. “Something I can offer. It isn’t a lot, but it might be of interest to you. A repayment, for you helping me.”

Johnny’s brow arched. _“Really_ now?” he questioned, intrigue nipping at his gut. “I thought I said not pickpocketing the townspeople was your repayment. But go on, what else do you have to offer me?”

There was very little someone could offer him that he didn’t already have, or could easily acquire himself. Johnny looked at Taeyong’s eyes. Big and brown, just like his dæmon’s, just as fiery beneath the surface. There was a lot masked behind those eyes, Johnny could tell, and it only piqued his curiosity further.

Taeyong looked around before leaning forwards, elbows on the table. “I can get things for you.”

“Get things? What kind of things?”

“Anything. I’m a good lock pick. If you have somewhere you need to get into, then I can help.”

A surprised laugh fell from Johnny’s lips. “You’re offering me your trespassing abilities?”

“I said I don’t have much else. This, I’m good at.” Taeyong said confidently, and Johnny hummed. He remembered how his leopard dæmon had confronted him before, seemingly appearing out of thin air, not making a sound as she had ran over to him. Taeyong himself was lithe, he probably made quite the good thief, most of the time, though the only proof Johnny had of that was his performance the other night, which hadn’t ended well at all.

“So I tell you not to pickpocket and you switch to burglary and trespassing instead?”

“This is different—” Johnny’s brows raised. “—I wouldn’t be doing this for me. It would be for you.” 

Johnny felt a slow smile spread over his lips. Interesting indeed. “You realise I could turn you in just for conspiring to do this, right?”

“Something tells me you wouldn’t do that.”

“And how would you know that?”

“People don’t respect the police,” Taeyong said. “People respect _you._ I see the way they look at you, listen to you. I don’t think someone like you would bother enlisting the help of the police for the purpose of punishing me when you appear more than capable of doing it yourself. Plus, if you had any intention of doing that, you wouldn’t have let me go the other night, let alone help me.” He finished, meeting Johnny’s gaze head on. 

The bond in Johnny’s chest sparked. He glanced down at Laius to see his dæmon peering at Taeyong curiously. The wolf was amused, intrigued, ever-so-slightly impressed. Johnny hid another smile behind his glass, finishing his drink in one go. It was hard to argue with what Taeyong had said, though Johnny couldn’t understand why Taeyong had bothered at all.

Johnny had no use for his supposed lock picking skills. He already had some skilled people when it came to trespassing, his most capable being Jaemin, and he wasn’t in dire need of acquiring any others. They weren’t a constant requirement when Johnny pretty much always had access to the things he needed.

But then again, he didn’t feel like making Taeyong walk away just yet. He was interested to know more; his pickpocketing, now his lock picking, the commitment to seeking out Johnny in a heavy downpour just to say thanks— was he really that grateful that Johnny intervened, or was there something more? Johnny wanted to know, felt it like itch under his skin as he met Taeyong’s eyes again and saw them hardened by zeal, like he was ready to argue any dismissal Johnny may have given him.

Peculiar, yet Johnny found himself smiling once more.

“Alright,” he relented, putting the glass back down with a clink. Taeyong sat up straighter. “You want to offer your help? I’ve just thought of somewhere. The storm should pass by tomorrow. When it’s morning, meet me outside again. Then you can come and help me pick a lock.”

Taeyong frowned a little. “Okay… Can I ask where we will be going?”

“Turn up tomorrow and you’ll find out.” Johnny shot back and Taeyong looked at him, eyes searching before he nodded.

He took that as his cue to stand back up, walking past Johnny so that he could retrieve his coat. They were quite close now, and Johnny leaned back, looking up at the other as Taeyong folded the coat over his arm. He met his eyes unblinkingly, just as boldly as he had the very first time. He then bowed, only slightly, to him then to Laius, and made his way out, giving Johnny a final glance before he pushed the door shut.

“He’s unusual.” Laius commented.

“You like him.” Johnny said, grinning when the wolf scowled at him. 

“I like that he doesn’t seem like a complete idiot. I also like that he’s making an effort to repay you. A lesser man would have just taken it and ran, but he seems dedicated.”

Johnny hummed. Key word being _seems._ Johnny was sure he would figure him out soon enough. He stood to his feet as well, walking out to the bar to request another drink, perhaps hold out until the storm decided to pass. Taeyong was no where in sight when he slid up to the bar, placing another coin onto the counter top as Taeil silently fulfilled his second order.

He could hear the thunder from outside, now several beats between each rumble, slowly passing by.

✵

Johnny leaned against the wall of the Wheatsheaf, blowing the smoke of his cigarette out into the warming air. The storm had stopped somewhere in the early hours of the morning. The clouds had since parted, allowing the sun’s rays to begin drying up the puddles left by the downpour.

He took another drag and then heard footfalls to his left, coming to a stop by his side. He turned to find Taeyong standing there, hands in his pockets in a laid back manner. His hair was fluffy again and his clothes looked freshly pressed. He looked as though he was about to attend a job interview instead of break his way into someone else’s premises, but Johnny supposed that might have been the point.

Johnny wondered where a man who had to pickpocket money for food would get his clothes smartly ironed, but he didn’t question it.

“Good morning.” Taeyong greeted. He didn’t smile but there was a softness to his expression that Johnny hadn’t seen before.

“Morning,” Johnny flicked his cigarette butt into a nearby puddle. “Are you ready to go?”

Taeyong nodded.

“Good. Then let’s go.”

Where they were headed was not far away. Taeyong didn’t initiate any sort of conversation on the way there, so Johnny walked on ahead in silence, listening for the other’s footsteps to make sure he was still following. They soon arrived down at the docks, and as usual it was a rush of people and dæmons alike. There were people mooring boats, unloading cargo and transporting supplies to and fro. It was loud too, also not unusual, with blaring boat horns and the general chatter of dozens of the town’s workforce starting their morning rounds.

“The docks?” Taeyong questioned, coming up to Johnny’s side as they waited for a train of supply carts of clear the way again.

Johnny gathered what Taeyong was asking, _why_ were they at the docks, in broad daylight, to illegally break in somewhere when there were witnesses around every possible corner? The docks also marked the end of town, and the only way of leaving them was back the way they came or across the endless body of water. It would be foolish to attempt anything, let alone trespassing, in an area like this, so he could understand why Taeyong seemed so puzzled.

“Yes, our town docks. Have you been here before?”

“I have,” Taeyong looked up at him then. “It is busy here.” He said, conveying the obvious without needing to say the words.

“Always is at this time of day,” Johnny replied instead, smiling down at Taeyong. The supply carts cleared and Laius trotted on ahead. “Shall we?”

He led Taeyong through the crowds, telling him to stick close by, until they made it to the end of the docks where the cargo crates were kept. The crates were large, placed in near infinite rows of multicoloured steel. They encountered a few workmen on their way down one of the rows, they each turned to Johnny and tipped their hats, quickly stepping out of his way and allowing them to walk through. Johnny took them a little further until he stopped, rounding a large, red crate and turning on his heels to face Taeyong.

Taeyong stopped also, looking at Johnny then at the crate behind him.

“So, yesterday you told me you could get me anything,” Johnny started, resting back against the crate doors, right beside where two metal padlocks were hooked through the steel, preventing the handle from being moved. “You said that if there was somewhere I needed to get into, then you could help me. I want you to help me get into this crate.”

Taeyong swallowed, then glanced back around the corner where the men they’d not long passed could still be heard talking. He gave Johnny a dubious look.

“There are people here.” Taeyong whispered.

Johnny shrugged. “That there are.”

“We’ll be caught in an instant,” Taeyong breathed. “All it takes is for one of them to walk up here. They’ll probably know that this crate doesn’t belong to me.”

“I’m here, am I not? You will be fine. Now, open the crate.”

Taeyong looked uneasy as he peered around the corner again, letting out a frustrated sounding sigh as he turned back. He gave Johnny another look, one clearly translating to, _really?_ and Johnny nodded, folding his arms across his chest as he waited.

Taeyong frowned, but he walked up to the crate, up to Johnny, and put his hand in his coat pocket. He pulled out a little, black case, inside there were various metal rods, all with different hooked tips and curves to them. He pulled out two without even looking and put the others away. Taeyong reached for one of the padlocks, but stopped when he realised Johnny was still leaning beside it. Johnny smiled, but didn’t move, and Taeyong breathed a small, indignant huff before grabbing onto the padlock.

Johnny watched him work. It was quite fascinating, picking locks. Johnny could work his way around a simple lock, like one in a standard house door, but the more intricate ones were where he started stumbling. They had too many mechanisms and lock picking was as much of a doing task as it was a research one. It was all well knowing how a lock works, but if you’ve never actually tried to pick it, chances are you won’t have much luck in doing so.

He gave up on trying to memorise the movements of Taeyong’s fingers as he deftly moved the two tools around in a pattern that made absolutely zero sense. Taeyong’s eyes were narrowed, focused entirely on the small keyhole in the center of the heavy padlock. He then removed one of the tools, keeping the other in place as he moved his head closer, ear almost touching the metal. His head was only an inch away from Johnny’s arm but he didn’t seem bothered by it, he closed his eyes and moved the tool again, slowly.

Johnny didn’t breathe, didn’t dare, then he heard it too, a very tiny _click._ Taeyong sounded satisfied, he twisted the tool again and the shackle of the padlock popped open. He unhooked it and held it out to Johnny expectantly.

“Nice,” Johnny commented as he took it. “Now, onto the other one. I’m aware this one is a lot harder to open.”

It was harder to open, deliberately so, but Taeyong still managed it. He had to change to a different duo of tools two times, but he still unlocked it in a record amount of time. He dropped the second padlock into Johnny’s open palm, and Johnny didn’t miss the smile threatening to pull at the corner of his lips, clearly pleased.

“Huh.” Johnny said, impressed. Not many people would be able to pick a lock like that, certainly not in such a short amount of time.

Johnny swirled around, pushing the large metal handle of the crate downwards and releasing the inside latch. When he pulled the door open, they were met with an empty space, nothing but more steel and wooden floor panelling. Johnny savoured the bewilderment on Taeyong’s face as he peeked inside, a small crack in his usually hardened expression.

“I…I don’t understand,” Taeyong murmured. “Did you realise it would be empty?”

“Of course. I own this crate, after all. I just don’t have anything to store in it yet.”

Taeyong stood back, stared at him for a long moment. “Then what…why?”

“Is the reason not obvious? It was to test your skill and I have to say, you have quite a knack for lock picking, you weren’t lying. I paid good money for this second padlock though, so knowing you can open it without much trouble is a little bothersome.” Johnny grumbled, throwing said padlock in the air and catching it again.

“A test.” Taeyong said, his voice flat.

“Correct. I had to see that you were as good as you said before jumping into anything as drastic as committing some kind of robbery.”

Taeyong continued to stare at him. Johnny thought he looked annoyed, but then he huffed something dangerously close to a laugh. “I probably should have guessed. I did think you’d lost your mind for a moment when you led us here.”

Johnny smiled at him, “My mind? Never.” he turned to shut and padlock the crate again. “Should we head back?” He asked, though he was already starting the walk back the way they came.

“Did I pass your test, then?” He heard Taeyong ask. His tone was a tad bold, like he already knew the answer but he wanted to hear Johnny say it anyway.

“Oh, yes. With flying colours.” Johnny humoured him.

✵

  
The walk back to the Wheatsheaf was pleasant. They didn’t talk again to begin with, but the air felt less tense. Johnny didn’t feel as though Taeyong and Cacia were staring daggers into his back anymore, their steps were less wary, more comfortable.

“So,” Taeyong piped up as the hanging sign of the pub came into view. “Do you actually need my help with something now or did you just want to test me?”

Johnny glanced down, found both Taeyong and Cacia looking up at him. “No, I don’t need your help. And no, I didn’t want to test you. I _needed_ to test you, in case you were lying about being a handy lock pick. I couldn’t have just taken your word for it.”

Taeyong looked away, humming. “That brings me onto my second question. Why test me at all if you don’t need my help?”

“Does it bother you? That I told you to meet me when there was no real job to be done?”

“No,” Taeyong answered swiftly, surprising Johnny. “I was the one that offered you my help. I would have come even if I knew it was going to be a test. I’m just wondering why you would waste your time doing all of this if you don’t actually need me for anything.”

Johnny stopped by the pub wall and turned to face Taeyong, halting him and Cacia in their tracks also. “And who’s to say I won’t need your skills in the future?” He asked.

Taeyong blinked, mouth parting slightly.

“I said I didn’t need your help,” Johnny continued. “But I didn’t say _at all,_ I meant at the moment there is nothing I need from you. But you never know, things always crop up when I least expect it, so perhaps I might find myself in need of a talented lock pick later down the line.”

“Later down the line?” Taeyong repeated.

“That’s what I said. Unless the help you offered was only available for today?”

Taeyong shook his head, hair bouncing with the movement. “No. No, it wasn’t. And yes, I could do that. I wouldn’t mind doing that.”

Johnny smiled. “That’s good to hear. So, can I have your number?”

“My number…” Taeyong’s eyes went wide.

“Yes. So I can contact you if I’m in need of your assistance.” Johnny said and Taeyong drew in a breath. Johnny noticed the red tint to Taeyong’s ears as the man began rummaging around his coat pockets. Huh. 

A moment later, Taeyong pulled out a pen. “I don’t have any paper.” He said quietly.

Johnny felt his own pockets. “Neither do I,” Johnny un-pocketed his empty hand, then with a sudden thought, held it out to Taeyong. “Write it on my hand. I won’t forget about it this way, either.”

Taeyong didn’t look sure, but Johnny dropped his hand into both of Taeyong’s anyway. It took Taeyong a second to actually move, then he was gently turning Johnny’s hand over, holding it in place so he could start writing on the back of it. His handwriting was neat, despite skin being the surface, and he wrote his name in cursive letters underneath the digits.

“That’s the number for my room.” Taeyong said and Johnny’s brain lit up with the information. Taeyong stayed in a hotel? A B&B perhaps? 

Johnny took his hand back, already going over the numbers in his head. Just then, a thunderous laugh rang down the street. Johnny knew that laugh anywhere. He turned to see Mark and Donghyuck making their way towards the pub with Jisung and Jeno in tow, the four of them clearly sharing some kind of joke from the way Mark was clinging onto Donghyuck for support.

Donghyuck did a double take when he spotted him, then threw up a hand, “Johnny! There you are! Are you joining us?”

Johnny nodded back at him, then turned to Taeyong, “That would be my cue to get going.”

“Oh,” Taeyong’s eyes lingered on Donghyuck’s group for a moment before they snapped back to Johnny. “Yes, erm. Thanks. I mean thank you, again.” He said, and Johnny grinned at him.

“Thanks for your number,” he held up his ink-scribbled hand. “I’ll be in touch if the moment arises. Goodbye, Taeyong, Cacia.”

“Bye.” Taeyong said, curling his fingers into a small wave as Cacia nodded her head at him. Johnny turned away from the pair with one final smile.

“Who was that?” Donghyuck asked Johnny when he reached the doors. The others had already gone inside. Johnny flicked his arm, which he then immediately regret when Donghyuck zeroed in on the ink like a moth to a flame. “A phone number? Are you seeing someone and not telling me?”

Johnny flicked him again, pushing him through the pub doors. “Mind your own business.”

“He was good looking. I could tell from here. I wouldn’t blame you.” His brother shrugged, then let out a noise when Johnny grabbed his neck, leading him to their room with the accompanying buzz of the other patrons, starting their drinks early.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heh :p
> 
> Also idk if it's obvious but just in case you're not sure how to pronounce these names: 
> 
> Laius = Lie-us
> 
> Cacia = Ca-sia
> 
> Thank you again for reading!


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